HELENA — A judge in Missoula has ruled against environmental groups and other advocates who wanted to require the Montana Public Service Commission to make a faster decision on whether to consider climate change in their regulatory rulings.
This decision is the latest step in a process that began in February, when 42 petitioners asked the PSC to create a rule to apply a “social cost” of greenhouse gas emissions when they’re considering electric and gas utilities’ rates, resource planning and other decisions. District Judge Leslie Halligan dismissed a motion asking her to order the commission to immediately deny the petition or move forward with a formal rulemaking process.
The petitioners seeking a climate rule included groups like the Montana Environmental Information Center and Families for a Livable Climate, as well as businesses like Bridger Bowl Ski Area.
Their request followed last year’s decision in Held v. Montana, where a judge sided with young plaintiffs who argued the state had a responsibility to consider climate change as part of the Montana Constitution’s guarantee of a clean and healthful environment.
In April, the commission held a public meeting in Helena, where they heard hours of testimony from supporters and opponents of the rule. Later that month, they voted to extend the public comment period. The PSC still has not made a formal determination on the petition.
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11 of the petitioning organizations went to court, saying the Montana Administrative Procedures Act, or MAPA, requires that an agency formally deny a petition or start the rulemaking process within 60 days.
“[T]he Commission has deprived Petitioners of their right to obtain a decision on a petition that is of great urgency and importance to them,” they wrote in a court filing.
The PSC defended their actions, saying that the informal processes they have been going through met the requirements under MAPA.
“The Writ Petitioners’ insistence that the Commission always begin with formal notices of proposed rulemaking and without first conferring and consulting with interested parties pursuant to § 2-4-304, MCA, would lead to rulemaking processes that are both less thoughtful and more muddled and complicated,” they said in a filing.
Halligan ruled Wednesday that state law does allow the commission to start an informal process within 60 days and remain within the MAPA requirements. She said it wouldn’t be appropriate for the court to direct what option the PSC uses when considering a petition.
“As a matter of public policy, the Commission’s efforts to consider broad public interests and to allow extensive public participation when proceeding with a proposed rule so large in scope is in harmony with the spirit of MAPA,” she wrote.
However, Halligan also wrote that the PSC “appears more readily able to acknowledge” that these actions have been part of an informal rulemaking process after the lawsuit was filed.
“Had the Commission provided this level of clarity to begin with, much of this miscommunication could have been avoided,” she wrote.
David Sanders, the PSC’s executive director, told MTN the agency was pleased the court upheld the informal process they have been using. He said they are still going through five volumes of public comment they received on this petition.
